Bangalore - Vijayawada - Vizag - Bhubaneswar : Route Queries

This is a discussion on Bangalore - Vijayawada - Vizag - Bhubaneswar : Route Queries within Route / Travel Queries, part of the Travelogues category; Originally Posted by sdp1975
Seemandhra strike to continue till Oct 15. Petrol bunks will be closed on Oct 5 and ...

Now this would be cause for concern, to any fellow traveler scheduled to commute in this route during weekend. Additional fuel needs to be carried, if the petrol bunks are going to remain closed in the entire region.

We reached Durgapur after a gruelling 14 hours drive for a mere distance of 588. The roads are non existent on one side of NH 60 right from balasore to kharagpur. Traffic was 2 way throughout this stretch. But our ordeal was not really this or the incessant rains which followed us right through to the hotel. We were stuck amidst 5-7 kms long jam on OR - WB border. As fresh roads are being laid out both sides of the truck traffic was piled on to one, and this at a place which is notorious for following no structure. I have crossed this route twice, but it was never this bad. We were stuck for 2 hours straight amongst this mayhem. Feels good to be sitting in my hotel room and typing this ... Phew

This is real surprising news. By looking at the Chennai - Kolkata leg of the GQ map on the NHAI website I was so happy this time, because it was finally showing the status as 100% complete. But then how can they claim so, if a major leg between Balasore and KGP is operating on a single carriageway?
Even in 2010 when I last drove on this stretch, it was quite okay and was having totally separate lanes for up and down traffic with very few diversions and that too only inside Orissa. Only thing was that the surface was concrete and the tar layers on all the culverts were worn off and rough. Are they making it a black top road now?

I'm planning to travel from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar next week. Need suggestions on the two routes that I have identified especially on the current road conditions and the kind of chaos sparked due to the Telangana issue.

This is real surprising news. By looking at the Chennai - Kolkata leg of the GQ map on the NHAI website I was so happy this time, because it was finally showing the status as 100% complete. But then how can they claim so, if a major leg between Balasore and KGP is operating on a single carriageway?
Even in 2010 when I last drove on this stretch, it was quite okay and was having totally separate lanes for up and down traffic with very few diversions and that too only inside Orissa. Only thing was that the surface was concrete and the tar layers on all the culverts were worn off and rough. Are they making it a black top road now?

The road has been completed and is being shown as such in the NHAI website. What is going on now is major maintainance. But this section was one of the worst made roads ever.

The concrete surface was crappy to say the least. Numerous times approach to bridges and culverts were washed away during minor floods. The road never had enough culverts to allow water from flowing easily from one side to the other side, which most engineers said would eventually weaken the base of the highway. Hopefully they are now going to solve most of these problems.

Day 1 - Started Bangalore at 3-45 am on Oct 2. Reached Srikakulam at 2am on Oct 3 via Chitoor. Did not face any anti-Telangana protests anywhere. So this was about a 22hr journey.

Day 2 - Started Srikakulam at 10-45am on Oct 3 after a 9hr break at the hotel. Reached Kolkata at 1-30 am on Oct 4. So this took around 15 hrs.

Checkpost at WB-OR border was a breeze at around 9pm. There was some truck pileup at OR-AP border around 1-30pm and I took the opposite lane. Balasore-KGP took around 4 hrs , and there was heavy traffic in BBSWR-Cuttack.

The actual drive took around 32 hrs , and with 5 hrs of break , it was a total of 37 hrs journey.

EDIT : Just noticed that the Cabinet approval on Telangana came yesterday evening and by then I had crossed AP. Read some news items on Seemandhra bandhs on the next 72 hrs.

I'm planning to travel from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar next week. Need suggestions on the two routes that I have identified especially on the current road conditions and the kind of chaos sparked due to the Telangana issue.

Protests have increased severely since Oct 3 after the Cabinet announcement on Telengana formation. Right now there's a 72 hr bandh in Seemandhra. Even in route 2 you will have to go through places like Anantapur where protests are ongoing.

Route 2 is still preferable , but keep an eye on the news before travelling. Try bypassing such areas at night.

Protests have increased severely since Oct 3 after the Cabinet announcement on Telengana formation. Right now there's a 72 hr bandh in Seemandhra. Even in route 2 you will have to go through places like Anantapur where protests are ongoing.

Route 2 is still preferable , but keep an eye on the news before travelling. Try bypassing such areas at night.

As per info received from one of our Co drivers, while travelling from Hyderabad to B'lore on 04 Oct 13, there was protests observed even during night in some areas between Kurnool & Ananthpur. Street lights (which are generally found working) were also not functional in some sections of the Highway due to the protest. Pl excise caution for a couple of days in this route.

Thanks all for your replies & sorry for my delayed response. I just finished getting the print outs of the road map for route-1. But seems like I have to opt for route-2 now. In sheer dilemma. Have planned to touch Vizag on day-1, thus have opted route-1. By the way the bandh was for 72 hours and I'll be starting early Tuesday(8th Oct). Would you still suggest me to take Hyd route? Please reply.

Day 2 is a complete no-no. It passes through some of the worst Mao-ist affected regions and has some of the worst roads out there. It is likely to take you 2 days by itself. For example, a normal Bhubaneswar-Jeypore journey takes you about 10-12 hours, and that would only get you half way.

If you really desparately want to avoid Seemandhra, you can do the following.

Day 1 and Day 2 are not exactly super smooth roads, but are ok with some bad stretches. Wont be as comfortable as taking the GQ through Seemandhra, but nowhere near as stressful as the route you suggested.

Thanks all for your replies & sorry for my delayed response. I just finished getting the print outs of the road map for route-1. But seems like I have to opt for route-2 now. In sheer dilemma. Have planned to touch Vizag on day-1, thus have opted route-1. By the way the bandh was for 72 hours and I'll be starting early Tuesday(8th Oct). Would you still suggest me to take Hyd route? Please reply.

There are protests observed between Ananthpur & Kurnool. However you can pass through at night from this region, beyond Telengana region too vehicles are able to pass through to Vizag but you can experience protests for couple of hours at important Junctions enroute which can cause delay.

Our Co. Vehicle delivered material at Srikakulam yesterday & returned back so the update is being communicated accordingly. Pl carry sufficient cash, food stuff & water as the ATM's are not functional & there is no power either. Consider re-fueling in Hyderabad, carry extra fuel if possible as you're not likely to find fuel at Vizag. As per news reports, Petrol is being sold at Rs 120 per litre in loose. Have a safe journey